March 28, 2022

It's 2022 and now, 18 states and Washington, DC, have legalized marijuana for adults over 21 years old, also 38 states and DC have made medical marijuana legal. This has provided entrepreneurs, connoisseurs and enthusiasts the opportunity to thrive in a growing cannabis industry.

With opportunity also comes challenges. Marketing and advertising have been specially a roller coaster to navigate. Through trial and error companies have achieved a way to promote their service.

Challenges for the Cannabis Industry

Let's take a look at some limitations, obstacles and opportunities so you can begin marketing your services effectively.

Every business has its limitations and obstacles.

• The cannabis industry is growing rapidly, with global sales expected to reach $33.6 billion by 2025.
• Though the industry has seen significant improvement, particularly around legality, it will continue to face many challenges.
• Legality and regulation will continue to be key forces driving the industry as different countries and states within the U.S. approach the use and sale of cannabis differently.
• Banking will continue to be a challenge because cannabis companies within the U.S. cannot legally access traditional banking services.
• Through partnerships and acquisitions, companies in established "addiction" industries such as alcohol and tobacco will further cement themselves in the cannabis market.
• The Federal Reserve's announcement on Dec. 15, 2021, that it will raise interest rates in 2022 will make it harder for marijuana companies to raise capital for future growth.

When it comes to the Cannabis Industry, limitations are far more strict than a "regular business". This is why it's important for you to check what are your states and federal rules for your business.

Here are examples of how to be compliant with advertising in the state of California.

• Any advertising or marketing placed in broadcast, cable, radio, print, and digital communications shall only be displayed where at least 71.6 percent of the audience is reasonably expected to be 21 years of age or older, as determined by reliable, up-to-date audience composition data.

• Any advertising or marketing involving direct, individualized communication or dialogue controlled by the licensee shall utilize a method of age affirmation to verify that the recipient is 21 years of age or older before engaging in that communication or dialogue controlled by the licensee. For purposes of this section, that method of age affirmation may include user confirmation, birth date disclosure, or other similar registration method.
• All advertising shall be truthful and appropriately substantiated

Now you might think that's where all the guidelines end. But as great as it would be to be right, the cannabis Industry also needs to follow the guidelines of the social media of their choice. Facebook, Instagram and TikTok being their main platforms.

Social media platforms are infamous for shutting down well-established cannabis based business pages forcing brands to build from the bottom up time and time again.

Broadcasters which have long been a form of word of mouth advertising for businesses are scared to help promote cannabis businesses. This is because the FCC issues licenses each year based on how well broadcasters serve the public interest and according to Section 843 of the Controlled Substances Act promoting cannabis businesses while the plant is federally illegal is a direct violation.

Ways to overcome limitations and obstacles

"Some ways that you can overcome these limitations and obstacles without breaking the law. These are the ones we have found to be most effective and help bring us success not only with CannaLance but also with our other content company, AnEye4TheShot, and in building an interest in our essential oil company Oils of Time.

Incorporate a strong SEO strategy across the company website and social media platforms. This will help people find your business without having to “advertise” through other means.

Related article: What is SEO and how does it work?

Build a strong social media following and provide daily interaction with followers. This will allow you to promote new products directly to individuals who have shown an interest in your products or services. Be diligent about what you share however. The promotion of sale of actual cannabis products is highly frowned upon and could lead to your account being shut down. We suggest not mentioning cannabis or marijuana within the text of your social media profiles to help keep your accounts from being flagged.

Create a blog and provide your followers, potential customers, clients, and the entire world with original engaging content on a consistent basis. Then promote that content across all of your social media accounts, in your company’s newsletter, and in your brand's email marketing campaigns!"

Marketing Tips and Strategies

1. Being Authentic is Everything: Remember we live in a time when information is available to everyone with one click. We can all search and search until we find the company that shows the core values, mission and style we have. That is who we will follow. That is why being you is everything!. Is important to find inspiration in different accounts, but always remember that if you are transparent with yourself that will reflect on your page.

2. High-impact contact: Like we said. People follow you, not your product. Remember to infuse your platform with life and give valuable information. People value companies that share their knowledge with them. Share your values, call for action, help your audience learn and reflect. That will create real engagement.

3. Branding- Color Palette: Consistency is important. That applies to your colors, font and styles that are part of your brand. That will help you keep an aesthetic page. Canva is one app that can help you create your own color palette as well as select the correct calligraphy for your page.

Related Article: Create your own color palette based on an inspirational image

4. Strategic Planning: Apps like Planoly can help you coordinate and schedule your posts and keep everything on point. You can plan your marketing campaigns ahead of time. It's important for you to always keep in mind holidays, 420 or other special day that you celebrate.

5. Hashtags are your best friend: Hashtags have become essential in all platforms. If you learn how to use hashtags, you will be able to boost your social media platforms to another lever. Hashtags help to filter and the discovery of similar content. People that come across your account through hashtags are easier to become new followers and based on your content potential customers.

Here are two links that will help you search for the right hashtags based on keywords: Hashtag Stack, Hashtastic 

6. Do technical search engine optimization (SEO): Implementing technical SEO and on-page SEO copywriting will help your cannabusiness rank high on Google and bring qualified traffic to your site.

Technical SEO covers website and server strategies that help bots of search engines sort your site thoroughly and enhance your organic search rankings. This includes optimizing and implementing a secure HTTPS server and SSL certificate, fixing duplicate content, maximizing load time and site speed, seeing to it that the website is mobile-friendly, and more.

Search engines favor websites that execute technical issues well. Optimize your technical SEO before implementing any other SEO tactic.

• SEO is how the internet ranks businesses within search results so a strong SEO strategy is crucial to your brand and company’s ability to be found on the internet.
• A strong SEO strategy should lead to increased website traffic which could lead to an increase in conversions for your business.
• A strong SEO strategy should bring about a stronger social media presence which should lead to more site traffic and brand exposure.

Other resources: 

• Image compressor: This link will help you compress your images, making your website load faster,
• The Beginner's Guide to SEO: Rankings and traffic through search engine optimization
• LinkedIn learning: Improve SEO for your website

7. Influencers: It's amazing how some strategies never change. And the word-of-mouth marketing strategy is a never ending one. Having people share their experiences, what they like, what they bought, what gift they received makes a big statement for your brand. Influencers, customers and brand ambassadors are going to become your best bet when it comes to sharing your product to the world.

It's also important to envision your brand as an influencer itself. People have being able to become influencers themselves with their own products. Here are some of the top cannabis influencers that you'll see on different social media platforms.

• Steve DeAngelo: Presents himself as the “The Father of the Cannabis Industry” on Instagram. He is one of the Originators and Chairman of Harborside, a famous dispensary chain in Oakland, California. A long time advocate for the legalization of cannabis in the U.S.
• Michelle Ross: Ross is a neuroscientist, mental health expert, and author. She supports herbal medicine and helps people with chronic disorders.
• Wiz Khalifa: Khalifa shows his love for cannabis by promoting and including it in his music.
• Megan Elizabeth: A YouTuber who tested several cannabis products and showed the benefits. Post instructional videos to help people suffering from anxiety and depression.
• Krishna Sai Andavolu: Andavolu is the host and producer of Weediquette. Here he shows the effect of cannabis legalization in some states and outside of the U.S. Some episodes cover stories of patients using medical cannabis to treat symptoms of PTSD and cancer.

8. Research the Law: Each state has its own laws about advertising, packaging, labeling, and more. Get updated with what you can and can’t do.

Avoid unsupported claims, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) means business about truth in advertising.

If you are in the cannabusiness operating a cannabis dispensary, you know the FDA does not allow the amount of THC in a CBD product to go over 0.3 percent. The cannabis laws vary from state-to-state, Arizona recognizes patients from other states but California, Colorado, and Hawaii do not.

Never make baseless assumptions when selling cannabis, know your state’s laws and federal laws and follow them.

9. Remember to be original: Remember what we went over on our first point? Be you, be you, be you. Having original content will not only keep you away from trouble and copywriter issues, it will communicate transparency, knowledge and authenticity. Points that are vital for people to become your followers.

Your followers will know if what you are transmitting is original. Of course, we are not talking about inventing something out of the blue to try to communicate. Again it is important to learn from other pages, influencers, brands, companies. But always remember to create your material yourself.

Conclusion

Remember you have one opportunity to capture your target audience's attention and you want to do this right. We might feel some points we looked at are at times overwhelming. But it's all about the first step. You are living in one of the greatest times for marketing, make the best out of the tools that are available to you.

If you found this information of value and you wish to learn more let us know!.

About the Author

Rose Josephson is a wife and mother of 2, dog mom and California resident. She is an entrepreneur, copywriter, content creator, social media manager and life enthusiast. Follow me on Insta gram and TikTok

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